obama spoke first. >> the president made it pretty clear when he talked to us, you know, "we're between you and the pitchforks, guys. and you need to just acknowledge that." >> the bankers have essentially made a decision that they're prepared to go along with what needs to be done to resolve this problem, to get the public back on the side of corporate america. >> narrator: but as the meeting progressed, to their astonishment, it became clear the president was in no mood for confrontation. >> what's interesting is that the next statements and the rest of the meeting essentially is obama skinning back as fast as he can on that pitchfork's punch. and he says right after that, "what we have, gentlemen, is a public relations disaster that's turning into a political disaster. and i'm here to help." >> i interpreted it as kind of a watershed time. banks are the catalyst to get us out of this morass that we're in. you can talk so long about the past, but at some point, you've got to look at the present and the future. and i thought that's what he was saying. >> narrator: the president had dec